Robert Winter turns the lawyer’s life into tales of romance

By Cody Beltis Banner Correspondent

Friday

Nov 30, 2018 at 2:52 PMNov 30, 2018 at 2:52 PM

In his newest novel, “Asylum,” Robert Winter tells the story of an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador named Hernan and his romance with Colin, a Cape Codder who works at an immigration nonprofit and helps Hernan seek asylum. Hernan fled his Central American homeland because he was persecuted for being gay, got assaulted by a local gang leader and contracted HIV.

“It was a labor of love,” Winter says of writing the book. “I had the idea to do it when an immigrant named Elias reached out to me, and I helped him get asylum in the United States. I thought that his story would make for the perfect romance.”

It’s a labor of love for other reasons as well. Winter, who lives in Provincetown and who calls himself a “recovering lawyer” on his website, worked in international law firms in corporate bankruptcy in New York for seven years and in Washington, D.C., for the better part of 20 years, and spent many hours representing immigrants pro bono.

“I was working for a large law firm in Washington that encouraged pro bono,” Winter says. “Elias got referred to me through one of the local organizations for immigrants seeking asylum. We helped him submit all of his paperwork, prepared him for his customs hearing, and got him to stay in the country.”

Nearing retirement, Winter began writing romance novels about gay men. “Asylum” is his second installment in a series; the first, “September,” is about a 48-year-old David James who, having lost his lover to cancer, embarks on an affair with a physical therapist 22 years his junior. Winter will offer a sneak preview of “Asylum” at East End Books Ptown at 7 p.m. this Friday, Nov. 30, during which he will read excerpts and sign copies.

“Growing up, I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy. Now, all I read are romance novels,” he says. “I think what really draws me to romance is that it’s not just about the plot and story — it’s really about getting inside the hearts of the characters.”

Though Winter says he intended to stay firmly within the romance genre with this series of novels, “Asylum” also takes on political and social themes, such as ICE’s “zero tolerance” policy, language barriers, children’s immigration, and the genesis of persecution.

“So much has been going on this year,” he says. “The book is not a panegyric, but I really wanted to put a face on the people who come to the country undocumented, to remind readers that there are many, many reasons why someone would seek asylum.” He donated all the proceeds from the book through August to RAICES, which provides legal services to immigrants and refugees in Texas.

“When I write, I really try to make the characters as balanced and as flawed as possible, but desirable and complex as well,” Winter says. “I want my characters to have some kind of soul.” At the outset of “Asylum,” Colin falls into Provincetown harbor, drunk and brooding, after dejectedly attending the wedding of a former lover. When Hernan delivers him from the water, Colin is smitten. He becomes Hernan’s unofficial sponsor, helping him land a job and keeping him sexually satisfied.

Colin and Hernan are both motivated problem-solvers. “Colin is someone who believes that the world works the way it is supposed to,” Winter says, adding that the character was raised by affluent parents who owned a successful insurance business, took piano lessons and played soccer. “Hernan has a much more skeptical view of the system.”

Winter says that coming out of the closet was difficult for him, having had a conservative upbringing in Texas. “I had just turned 19 when I came out, because that was the legal drinking age in Texas, and I just realized that this was me. It was the height of the AIDS crisis. My mom did not take it well — she wanted me to go see the priest. I just felt so confident in being gay that she never really convinced me that I was doing anything morally wrong.” He went on to graduate from the University of Texas at Austin and get a law degree from Georgetown University.

In 2015, he and his partner of 17 years, Andy, bought a home in Provincetown. “Provincetown was a place that really clicked for both of us,” Winter says. “In May, Andy retired, and we moved here full-time. I love the energy in the summertime and the quiet romance of the off-season.” In their spare time, they take flights in Andy’s Cirrus SR22 aircraft with their cat, Ling — the plane is featured on the front cover of “Asylum” — and they like to cook Indian food. And Winter, of course, continues to write about the glory of love.